Unique production process could slash diesel CO2 emissions

According to the new study, the secret to cleaner diesel lies is the placement of catalysts(Credit: Shutterstock)

A
join team of researchers from Belgium's KU Leuven and from Utrecht
University in the Netherlands has examined the fuel production
process, developing a new method that allows for cleaner diesel.
According to the team, the technique could easily be scaled up to
industrial levels for use within the next decade.

Catalysts
are central to fuel production, facilitating the chemical reactions
that transition the raw materials into a usable product. During the production process, the
fuel molecules interact with the catalyst materials, bouncing between
the metal and acid, altering their state as they go.

The
researchers' breakthrough relates to the placement of the catalyst
materials, which in this case consisted of platinum and a solid state acid. It's currently standard practice to place the two
catalysts as close together as possible, which is thought to allow
the raw materials to bounce more easily between them, giving the
process a helping hand.

The
new study turns this idea on its head, with the team finding that if
the components are placed at least a few nanometers apart, then the
reaction will produce a much more environmentally-friendly fuel. Surprised by the findings, the
researchers were keen to make sure the results weren't compromised in
any way, triple checking the outcome.

"We
repeated the experiments three times, only to arrive at the same
conclusion: the current theory is wrong," says Ku Leuven's
Professor Johan Martens. "There has to be a minimum distance
between the functions within a catalyst. This goes against what the
industry has been doing for the past 50 years."

According
to the team, the discovery could have big implications. If cars were
to run on the cleaner diesel, they would emit significantly fewer
harmful particles and produce less CO2. Furthermore, there's no
reason that the production method couldn't be scaled up quickly,
meaning we could be making use of the environmentally-friendly diesel
as soon as five to 10 years time.